Johnny Depp picks next two pics

Whitey Bulger pic 'Black Mass' and 'Transcendance' up next

With “The Lone Ranger” in post-production, Johnny Depp is ready to get back to work setting up Alcon Entertainment’s “Transcendence” and “Black Mass” as his next two projects.It had been reported that Depp had been circling both films but it was unknown if he could do both. The plan would be for Depp to first do “Transcendence” and follow that up with “Black Mass.”

“The Dark Knight” cinematographer Wally Pfister will make his helming debut on “Transcendence” and will be financed and produced by Alcon Entertainment’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Warner Bros. will distribute.

The film will also be produced by Straight Up Films’ Annie Marter, Marisa Polvino and Kate Cohen along with David Valdes. Jack Paglen penned the script.Plot details are being kept under wraps.

Following “Transcendence,” Depp will star in “Black Mass” which Barry Levinson will direct. The story is based on “Black Mass: The True Story of the Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob” by Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerald O’Neill which follows the life of Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger.The film will be produced by Cross Creek’s Brian Oliver and Tyler Thompson along with John Lesher via his Le Grisbi Productions and Nigel Sinclair and Guy East’s Exclusive Media, with Cross Creek and Exclusive Media co-financing. Butterworth is penning the latest draft of the script that was originally penned by Mark Mallouk.

The UTA-repped Depp can be seen next in Disney’s “The Lone Ranger” which bows July 3.